The widow of a bicycle owner who was killed in a collision involving a bin lorry driver has stated that the council’s response to the deadly crash – which she claims noticed her household handled with “absolute defiance” and instructed that her husband was “100 percent to blame” for his personal dying – “fired” her as much as build a authorized case which final month led to the family being awarded over £500,000 in compensation.
Katrina Ronald, talking for the primary time because the conclusion of the four-year dispute with Perth and Kinross Council, told STV News that she believes that the native authority “would have done more if their lorry killed a dog instead of my husband”.
Her husband, William Ronald, a 46-year-old RAF veteran who had served in Afghanistan, was using his bike close to the village of Cleish, Kinross-shire, on 25 May 2018, when he was struck on a blind bend by the driving force of a refuse truck belonging to the council. He was trapped underneath the car and, regardless of the efforts of medical employees, died on the scene.
The collision was investigated by police, although prosecutors dominated out any legal motion towards the council or the lorry driver, and council worker, Jordan Paterson, a choice which Mrs Ronald says resulted in a “wall of silence” from officers.
“I felt like everyone was saying William, someone who devoted his life to his country, didn’t matter,” she stated.
“With no prosecution the council dug their heels in, handled us with absolute defiance and principally stated ‘Your husband is 100 percent to blame, so go away’.
“Councils, police, and fiscals… all the communication dried up. They reached their own conclusions and that was that. It made me sick with anger but instead of feeling brow-beaten and rejected it actually fired me up more.”
A 12 months after the deadly collision, she determined to take authorized motion towards Perth and Kinross Council, which she believed, as a result of actions of their worker, was liable for her husband’s dying. However, negotiations with the native authority broke down after the council’s insurance coverage firm did not attend a scheduled assembly, and the civil motion was escalated to a trial at Edinburgh’s Court of Session, the very best civil courtroom in Scotland.
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Last month, we reported that jurors at the Court of Session concluded that Mrs Ronald ought to obtain £1,319,750 from the council in compensation, and that her daughter needs to be awarded £95,000. Two different family members had been additionally awarded £67,500 every in damages.
However, the jury additionally concluded that Mr Ronald had acted negligently on the time of the deadly crash by using “too fast” (information from his bike pc confirmed that he was using at 16mph within the moments earlier than the collision), and assessed that he was 58 p.c liable for the incident, with the bin lorry driver receiving 42 p.c of the blame as a result of his positioning on the highway. That resolution meant that Mrs Ronald’s compensation was diminished by 58 p.c, to simply over £554,000.
“The bicycle was going too fast,” Perth and Kinross Council’s advocate, Ranald Macpherson, argued on the trial. “Mr Paterson was driving at an acceptable pace. There was nothing extra he might have achieved.
“This was a terrible accident which had tragic consequences. However, it was not an accident which was caused by Mr Paterson.”
“The way they treated us was frankly inhuman”
Mrs Ronald, nevertheless, believes that the jury’s ruling that the lorry driver was additionally liable for the deadly collision has “proved the council was wrong”, and that she hopes her victory will encourage different households in comparable conditions to maintain combating for solutions.
“I honestly couldn’t care less about compensation as I have my own means to live – I raised a legal action to get answers,” she stated.
“I could not accept that someone would lay 100 percent of the blame at William’s feet, so for me the court case was not about proving William was right, but about proving the council was wrong. And we did that. We now have a black and white ruling to prove the council was wrong in their argument and I feel vindicated for that.”
Mrs Ronald additionally criticised what she describes because the council’s “inhuman” actions following her husband’s dying, and their dismissive angle in direction of weak highway customers.
“Bigger picture though, Perth and Kinross Council need to take a long, hard look at themselves and their policies around dealing with bereaved families because the way they treated us was frankly inhuman and is actually what sparked this whole process,” she added.
“I truthfully suppose the council would have achieved extra if their lorry killed a canine as an alternative of my husband.
“From day one they didn’t present a thread of empathy, however I wasn’t going to simply meekly bow down as a result of me, the women and William deserved higher. My youngest daughter, who was seven years old when her dad died, wished to know the specifics of how he died. I didn’t wish to be ready the place my solely reply is ‘I don’t know’ and I definitely didn’t wish to be ready the place I needed to inform her ‘Well, I could have tried to get answers but I didn’t attempt’.
“To anybody else on the market who has misplaced somebody or is caught up in these sorts of instances – preserve going. Ignore the naysayers. Ignore each wee thought that tells you it’s too laborious or it’s not value it as a result of it’s.
“Take whatever pain and anger you have and use it to motivate you and sharpen your thinking. You’ll get the truth and answers you need. You’ll get your justice.”
Innes Laing, associate at Digby Brown Solicitors in Kirkcaldy who led the authorized motion on behalf of the Ronald household, additionally instructed STV News: “Civil trials are extraordinarily uncommon as most instances are settled out of courtroom by way of negotiations – I feel lower than two p.c of non-public harm actions really find yourself in entrance of a sheriff or choose.
“I’m genuinely moved by the sustained drive, power, dignity and persistence proven by Katrina and her youngsters as a result of it’s not straightforward to carry quick for thus lengthy.
“Katrina is also completely right – all bereaved families deserve answers and empathy and I hope others out there, from victims to responsible third parties, take note of the lessons from this rare but extremely important legal action.”
A Perth and Kinross Council spokesperson stated: “We are very aware of how difficult the loss of Mr Ronald has been for his family. The civil case brought against the council was dealt with by our insurers and we note the verdict of the jury. Our thoughts continue to be with Mrs Ronald and her family.”
